As a personal injury lawyer in Daytona Beach, one of the many questions my clients ask me is, “who is covered under my policy?” The answer may surprise you. First, let me say that there are exceptions to every rule. The following is a general framework to inform you about the basics of who is considered an “insured” in a UM policy. An uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist policy is a portion of your auto insurance policy that provides protection for the “insureds” under the policy when an at-fault driver causes damage and injuries and has either no insurance or little insurance to pay for the damages.
Mandatory insureds under UM policies are the person who purchased the policy (the insured), the insured’s spouse, and the relatives of either the insured or the insured spouse who reside in the same household. The coverage also applies to operators of the insured vehicle who have permission from the insured and occupants of the vehicle who are occupying the vehicle when the car accident happens. These people covered under the policy are further broken down into class I and class II insured.
Class, I insureds are the named insured, spouse and resident relatives. Class II insureds are permissive operators and vehicle occupants. Class I insureds are covered under the policy whenever or where ever bodily injury is inflicted upon them. For class I insureds the policy provides coverage whether or not they are in the insured vehicle. Class II insureds are only covered if they are injured while in the insured vehicle and coverage may be denied if a class II insured does not have permission to occupy the vehicle.
This is a very basic discussion of who is covered under a UM policy. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident caused by an uninsured driver contact Zimmet & Zimmet. at (386) 255-6400 or so that one of our lawyers can look at your specific policy and apply it to the facts of your case.
This is not meant as legal advice. We will only give legal advice after we have accepted your case and researched your unique situation.
